News You Can Use

from Revs. Chris and Karen Mohr

November 2015

There are some major differences between how millennials marry and how the X’ers and Boomers marry!

♥ For starters, 66% of people age 18-34 have yet to get married at all. The 5% per year decrease in marriage licenses issued that began in 2005 continues.

♥ Those who do get married are collaborative in process yet desire uniqueness for their special day. They get advice from parents, friends, and the internet. They love to “crowdsource” opinions, and direct recommendations are far more important than brand recognition.

♥ They make up in creativity what they lack in money. I have noticed that if I toss out a few unique ideas (such as Unity M&Ms instead of a Unity Candle), they love the idea, even if they don’t use it, and they tend to bond with me as a guy who appreciates their uniqueness and creative spark!

♥ They often love to tell their story, either in their program, on their custom website, or even in the ceremony itself.

♥ The bride typically calls most of the shots, but grooms have become more involved as well. I’m in the habit of using the term “couple” instead of “bride,” not only to honor gay couples, but to be more inclusive of both parties in any couple.

♥ Authenticity is everything. In my twenty years of prison volunteering, I always sensed that an inmate could sniff out phoniness better than anyone else! But millennials are equally turned off by any sign of inauthenticity. The more natural and “myself” I can be, the more likely they are to select me as their officiant.
So what do we as wedding professionals do with this information? Pretty simple: be authentic, find out who they are collaborating with and invite them into the discussions, toss out creative ideas and show you’re adventurous, give them ideas in how to make their ceremony a unique expression of themselves, ask about their story, keep the groom in the loop… Honestly, these are ideas that I think can work well with older couples as well!

Thanks so much to all the venues who have recommended me to perform weddings! It’s a real honor, and I always hope I can continue to earn your trust.

Outdoor Unity Candle Lighters Beware! Did you know that a 3-mile-per-hour wind can blow out your candle? I’m not the superstitious type, but it doesn’t look great when this happens. That’s why Unity Sand is so popular outdoors. Or Unity M&Ms, or Unity Paintings! If you have a Unity Candle, we can talk about it during your outdoor ceremony and then go inside to sign the license and light the candle (often near the cake for extra-gorgeous photos) right afterwards. Revs. Chris & Karen Mohr